Needlepoint, embroidery and crewel type of work of course involves the use of a number of materials. These include a fairly wide variety of different colors and shades of yarns, usually in the form of short, small skeins, needles, scissors, the pattern or patterns being used and the base material or textile substrate into which the yarns are being placed according to the pattern. In addition, since it is desirable when traveling to carry extra quantities of yarn to prevent running out, a number of extra large storage pockets are also provided for holding this extra yarn so that needlepoint, crewel or embroidery work could continue.
Containers for carrying sewing articles have been known in the past. Exemplary of such devices are the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,573,330, Smith, Birkholz, 2,261,216, Schreyer, 2,398,256.
Smith shows a frame assembly made of two frame members hingedly connected together which are adapted to open and close one with aspect to the other. The device is provided with pockets in which to hold garments being sewed. The frame member is enclosed by means of an outer textile cover and on the interior is provided with a shelf and support posts or upright pins for holding spools of thread. Also there are a plurality of hooks on which scissors or other articles may be hung.
Birkholz also discloses a pair of frame members which are hingedly connected together so that the two members can be opened and closed. As was true in the Smith arrangement, the sewing cabinet disclosed by Birkholz is used to hold items being sewed and to keep sewing materials within convenient reach of the sewer as sewing progresses. The cabinet is provided with a series of trays for supporting scissors, pins, needles, buttons, etc., and also upstanding pins for holding spools of thread and internal pockets for holding the material being sewed.
The sewing cabinet disclosed by Schreyer also is comprised of two hingedly connected frame assemblies which are provided with interior pockets and vertical posts for supporting a plurality of spools of yarn. In addition, pockets are also provided for holding knitting needles and other sewing or knitting tools. In addition, this patent discusses the use of the upright, vertical support posts as being capable of holding a relatively long skein of yarn as it is being wound into a ball for future use.
Other examples of sewing or thread cabinets are exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,679,341, 2,852,172, 3,321,117 and 3,322,310. These show various arrangements employing vertical posts for supporting spools of yarn and sewing boxes which are adapted to hold thread spools and also contain means for holding applied or necessary equipment which will be used for sewing purposes.
None of these prior art devices, however, are designed specifically for holding a wide variety of relatively short skeins of yarn as are used in needlepoint, embroidery and crewel work.
Further, none of these prior art devices provide means for keeping a plurality of such small skeins separated and held in place, nor any means for providing an easy method for identifying or determining which color yarn to use.
The patterns employed in needlepoint and embroidery work are not written in terms of yarn colors, but rather, are comprised of a graph-type grid comprised of a plurality of small squares. Symbols or numbers are placed in these squares in a manner corresponding to the pattern with each different number symbol corresponding to a particular shade or color yarn. Even with simple patterns, the number of colors or shades used sometimes is as great as 25 or more. The problem then becomes one of easily finding the correctly numbered yarn skein to correspond with the requirements set forth in the pattern so that the needlepoint or embroidery work can proceed in a quick and a relatively easy fashion. If one were to simply have pockets for holding the various skeins of yarn, finding the correct skein could involve a great deal of hunting and searching through each pocket to find the correct number. In addition, skeins, when purchased, are usually identified by a number sleeve which, as the skein is reduced in size becomes only loosely held on the skein. If the skeins are allowed to remain loose in pockets as the size of the skeins is reduced, the likelihood of the identifying sleeves being removed increases. Thereafter, it is oftentimes difficult to distinguish correctly between different hues of particular colors especially where a number of hues which are close together are being used in the same pattern.
The present invention solves such problems and provides a ready and convenient means for maintaining separation between the yarn and also for providing a quick and easy means for locating the correctly numbered yarn pursuant to pattern requirements.
Thus, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an organizing and carrying cabinet particularly suited for holding needlepoint, embroidery and crewel materials and to provide, in addition, means for positively separating all of the various small skeins of yarn and other equipment necessary for such work as well as providing means for positively identifying each skein of yarn so as to simplify the process of finding the correct yarn according to pattern requirements.